The Locket
by 97TaraMarkov
Summary: ((Oneshot)) The Locket has been passed down through the Bennett family for generations, and now it's Sophie's turn to own it. But it doesn't seem like there's any way to open it. What mysteries does the locket hold? Why doesn't Jamie believe any more?...actually that one isn't answered here...(((oh the feels!)))


**A/N Hello, everyone, Tara here! I know I usually don't write author's notes, but what the heck, it's fun! Just an FYI- this is just a oneshot and will not be related to the Rise of the Guardians series I'm working on (and have yet to publish). Also I don't know how Jamie lost his belief, I guess it just happened when he grew up, but I'll leave you guys to puzzle that out. I hope reading this story gives you guys a good case of the feels (I know I got one while writing it). As always, please read and review. Now, without further ado:**

The Locket

"I do," Sophie rehearsed to her bedroom mirror. Dissatisfied, she squared her shoulders, taking in a deep breath before she tried again.

"I do," she repeated, attempting to make her voice sound light, but it just sounded like that of a sarcastically cheery airplane stewardess. No matter how many times she said it, the two words sounded cliché as ever.

Sophie sighed heavily and plumped down on the edge of her bed, examining the shiny, new ring on her left hand. She heard a soft chuckle and pivoted to see her mother standing in the doorway, a broad smile on her face.

"How long have you been standing there?" Sophie asked, cheeks turning a bright shade of red.

"Long enough," her mother answered as she sat on the bed next to Sophie. "I brought you something."

Sophie was handed a wooden box, and she opened it to reveal a relatively large, silver locket. "It's beautiful!" she exclaimed.

Her mother nodded. "That locket has been passed down through our family for generations," she explained. "I thought it would look nice with your dress."

"The dress that I don't have?" Sophie asked.

"I keep telling you that you shouldn't wait until the last minute."

"Alright already, I'll go shopping tomorrow."

Her mother looked at her questioningly.

"I promise!"

"That's what you said yesterday."

"This time I mean it," Sophie argued before directing her attention back to the ornate locket. The locket was in remarkable condition for being so old, and even seemed to have the original chain. She lifted it gently out of the box and turned it over in her hands, examining the intricate designs closely. There was no latch.

"How does it open?" Sophie asked her mother, brushing a long lock of her unruly, blonde hair out of her face.

"I've never been able to figure that out," she replied. "Perhaps Will or your brother could pry it open."

"I don't want to break it! But I've been meaning to pay Jamie a visit, anyway, I guess. I'll go see him first thing tomorrow."

Her mother raised an eyebrow. "After you go dress shopping?"

"Yes," Sophie sighed, "after I go dress shopping."

~o~O~o~

"Hey, Soph," greeted the tall, brown-haired Jamie Bennett as he opened the door of his apartment to the sight of his sister's cheerful face.

"Hey," she said as the two hugged each other briefly.

"Holy cow, you're freezing!" Jamie exclaimed as he brushed a clump of snow off of his shivering sister's shoulder.

"Looks like we're in for another blizzard," Sophie huffed. "I'm starting to get sick of all this snow!"

"Yeah, Jack Frost must really have it out for us this year."

"You don't seriously believe that, do you?" Sophie asked skeptically.

"Of course not, Soph. I'm not a kid anymore!" Jamie laughed. "But I still can't believe you're going to tie the knot before I do."

"Well, maybe if you worked-up the nerve to propose to Kathy...-"

"Don't start that with me; I'm already getting enough of that from Mom!"

Sophie shrugged her shoulders innocently as she made herself comfortable on the couch.

"Speaking of marriage, how are things with you and Will? It's not too late to back-out, you know," Jamie teased, sitting down in a chair opposite his sister.

Sophie grinned. "Fantastic! I picked out my dress today,"

"Do I get to see it?"

"Nope! You have to wait." She smirked tauntingly.

"Nothing too revealing, I hope."

Sophie snorted. "Are you crazy? Me, wear something revealing?"

Jamie just smiled and shrugged innocently, mimicking the one Sophie had performed earlier.

Sophie removed the locket from around her neck. "Mom did give me this, though. She says it's some kind of family heirloom," she said as she handed it to Jamie.

"Does it open?" he asked as he looked it over.

"If it does, Mom and I couldn't find out how."

"I see how it is; you only come to visit me when you want something!" Jamie accused jokingly.

"That's not true, and you know it!"

Jamie smiled and looked back down at the locket. He found that there was a tiny hole in the back, well hidden within the vine-like designs.

"I think I've got something," he muttered, snatching up a paperclip that had been sitting on the coffee table amidst a stack of papers.

"Be careful not to break it," Sophie cautioned.

Her brother waved a hand dismissively. "I will."

Jamie wiggled the thin wire into the hole and, after a few minutes of fiddling, they heard a quiet click. The front of the locket sprang open and a small slip of very old-looking paper spilled out. He picked up the yellowed paper and it crinkled loudly as he unfolded it. The were words written on it in black ink which read:

_To little sis, on her birthday:_

_Roses are red._

_The sky is blue._

_Your hair is a mess,_

_and you smell funny too._

_p.s. I hope you like the locket. Mother and I both chipped in._

_Sincerely,_

_Your big brother- Jack_

_p.p.s. Remind me to take you ice-skating sometime soon._

Jamie's brown eyes widened when he finished reading the paper. "Jack Frost," he whispered. _Don't be stupid_, he told himself. _It's just a coincidence. Jack Frost isn't even real._

"Now I know you've lost it," Sophie sighed.

Jamie was silent.

"What does the note say, Jamie? Give it here!" she demanded, whisking the wrinkled paper away from her unresponsive brother.

"Aww, that's sweet," she said after scanning the letter.

"Yeah...sweet," Jamie mumbled absently.

Sophie raised an eyebrow quizzically. "I honestly don't know what Kathy sees in you," she said, hoping that the remark would warrant some response from him.

Jamie stuck his tongue out at her defiantly.

"Oh, how very _mature_ of you," Sophie said, rolling her eyes.

"Just because I'm not a kid anymore doesn't mean I can't act like one sometimes. And besides, _I_ wasn't the one who was scared of the dark until I was twenty."

Sophie slapped the palm of her hand to her forehead, groaning. "That reminds me! I have to figure out what the kids are going to do tomorrow," She exclaimed suddenly, referring to her job at the daycare center. "All of this wedding planning has put me way behind on everything else!"

"Well, maybe if you stopped putting things off until the last minute..." Jamie began, grinning slyly.

"Jamie Bennett, you are going to regret saying that!" Sophie threatened. "Just you wait!"

~o~O~o~

Jamie sat at the window, watching the snow fall in big, fluffy, white flakes. He felt a wave of nostalgia, and he seriously considered going outside and having a snowball fight with whoever was around, but he also felt too old for such games. Talk about awkward, a grown man frolicking in the snow? He absentmindedly turned the now refolded letter over and over in his hands.

_Jack Frost. Just an expression, right?_ Jamie wasn't so sure anymore. There was something nagging at the back of his mind. Bits and pieces of a dream. A wild sled ride, a bunny rabbit made of snow, Easter eggs, yetis, a lost tooth, Jack Frost. _And it _was _just a dream, right?_

_"__You telling me you stop believing in the Moon when the Sun comes up?"_

_"__No."_

_"__Okay, well do you stop believing in the Sun when clouds block it out?"_

_"__No."_

_"__We'll _always _be there, Jamie. And now, we'll always be here, which kinda makes you a Guardian too."_

_A hug. _Jamie smiled. _Maybe it wasn't a dream, after all._

"I believe," he whispered, and in that moment, he could have sworn he saw a flash of a blue hoodie and a shimmer of white hair outside of his window.


End file.
